Perennial winters. 

Curl up by the fire with your Hot cuppa and read this.

I was here, at the second coldest inhabited place on Earth in October and experienced the very first snow of the season. Considered myself lucky and bid good bye to Drass the same month, thinking that I won't be coming back to this place again. But ,destiny had other plans. These mountains called me again to show how magically they have turned into a winter wonder land. An evening on the 18th March of 2021, the moment I crossed Kargil, the whiteness welcomed us. The kind of whiteness I had seen only in Hollywood movies and something I so wished to see and experience. I couldn't stop smiling thinking of being in the snow land.

The travelling part.

I flew from Delhi to Leh on an early morning flight and reached Leh airport by 9.15 am. From Leh, it was a long 7 hour journey by road to reach this winter wonderland.

The journey from Leh to Drass is one such, you are tired but you don't want the tiredness to block you from seeing the pretty views outside. The bends and curves of the road might test you, but the beauty and surprises after each bend and curve help you liven it up.

The Snow land and It's people.

Once we reached Dras, we didn't want to get acclimatized by resting indoors, we wanted to explore the snow, a whole lot of it. Dras is a frozen winter world for six months. The locals say the chill winds are the thing you need to vary about. Rest of the things are all good, all white. For me, the cold winds are okay to deal with, It was the cold toilet seat that gave me the chills. :) ;)

You can't access Dras in the peak of winters, from mid-November to March. The roads are closed, 'Zozjila pass' is closed, It is a standstill situation. Dras is cut off from the rest of the world. All the stocking happen before these 'no movement' days. Some days, the locals here aren't able to move the snow from roads or in front of their houses due to heavy snowfall. It is a task to remove the snow. Life here for the villagers is very hard. But, they have adapted well. They are hardy, mentally and physically strong. Their land and this weather made them so. They have a window of five months, mid-May to Mid October, to get major work done mainly any sort of construction work. The rest of the months are about surviving the cold.

Stepping out now and then from the cozy room of ours to check if the YR weather app is accurate is my agenda for almost all days. Waiting for the snow fall, it's a good feeling. Capture it and share it. I have had my share of snow experience in life. (Contended smile. :))

The sky here is the clearest I have witnessed. As the day progress, you get to see the many hues of blue, from the lightest blue to a dark purple shade. To see a clear sky with no suspended particles in the air is something which you don't get to see often in other parts of the country.

Tololing and Tiger Hill look magical during winters, but the history of these peaks make us shiver. While living my dream life of making snow angels, walking on snow, falling on snow and everything else that you can do with snow, I can't help forget about our brethren who are at the peak of various mountain tops watching over us, protecting our country in this blood-chilling weather. It isn't dreamy for them. They sure are counting days for the warmth of the sunshine and their families. They are fighting all odds to survive this harsh weather. Survival alone is tough, on top of that watching like a hawk for any potential threat from anywhere is their call of duty. Salute to them from my heart.

The whimsical golden hour

The snow land golden hour is an out of the world experience. I go for evening walks everyday ,not entirely for health benefits but to drink in as much of this white land as possible. Before every walk, I tell myself I won't just stand and stare at the snow capped mountains and go on a clicking spree. Nevertheless, I end up taking a million pics each day. The golden light, the sun rays falling on the ice, it's a reflex action to take the phone and click away to your heart's content (and your phone's storage space ). A way of wanting to cherish it all later on.